Ruminations (Expanded Edition)＜Black Vinyl＞

Conor Oberst2016年のソロ・アルバムが5曲のボーナス・トラック(内4曲が未発表曲)を追加収録してアナログで復刻。

Recorded in less than 48 hours with longtime collaborator Mike Mogis and engineer Ben Brodin, Ruminations sees Conor Oberst going full-on Nebraska, delivering a raw, difficult, and often beautiful set of deeply personal songs with minimal accompaniment. His seventh solo album and first since 2014's Upside Down Mountain, Ruminations is a far cry from the fiery, politically charged punk of 2015's Desaparecidos outing Payola. That said, it delivers much of what fans have come to expect from the prolific, erudite midwesterner; alternately shambolic and stately distillations of life's hardships, delivered with honesty and wobbly conviction. Written during a particularly challenging time that found Oberst battling anxiety, depression, laryngitis, and a host of other medical ills, the ten-track set bristles with the unease that comes with having to confront a particularly large swath of the unknown. Utilizing piano, guitar, and occasionally harmonica, Oberst wrestles with past, present, and future, but most of the aptly named LP concerns itself with loss. It's not the prettiest or easiest of records, nor is it Oberst's finest outing to date, but it does house some real gems, including the emotionally charged opener "Tachycardia," the thoughtful, Dylan-esque "You All Loved Him Once," and the barbed and broken "A Little Uncanny," the latter of which manages to pay homage to Jane Fonda, take down Ronald Reagan, and eulogize Robin Williams, Christopher Hitchens, Oliver Sacks, and Sylvia Plath, all in just over four minutes. ~ James Christopher Monger

昨2015年に2002年以来となるデサパレシドスを率いてのエモコア盤を発表したコナーが、今度は2年ぶりのソロ・アルバムを発表。これがキャリア中でもっともシンプルなフォーク作品になっていて、ピアノもしくはギターの弾き語りに時折ハーモニカを織り交ぜただけ、という内容。何の処理も施さず、テンポや音程のズレもそのまんま。だからこそ、声の震えや息遣いまでがダイレクトにこちらへ届き、熱い涙を誘うのだ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二